Lavaca County justice of the peace replacement to be on November ballot

Aug. 6, 2014 at 11:03 a.m.

No one has been named to replace a Lavaca County justice of the peace who died last month.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Michael Wayne Andes, 66, died after an illness, Lavaca County Judge Tramer Woytek said.

Andes won the Republican primary and was uncontested in the upcoming November election.

Write-in candidates must file by 5 p.m. Aug. 18 and the Republican Party Executive Committee has until Aug. 25 to determine who will be placed on the November ballot.

"There's no point in us making any decisions or taking any action until we know who the interested parties are. ... If there's no one but that one person (named by the Republic Party Executive Committee) on the ballot, there's no point in delaying any further," Woytek said.

Woytek meant if only one person is on the ballot, the county could appoint them to fill the remainder of Andes' term, which lasts until Jan. 1.

Woytek said the three other justices of the peace and Andes' full-time clerk will shoulder the responsibilities of the office in the meantime.

"We have to consider the needs of the citizens and make sure they are being met one way or the other," Woytek said.

Michael Johnson, the Lavaca County Republican Party Chair, said it's already been decided who will take Andes' place on the November ballot.

He declined to release the person's name until the committee submits a certification to elections administrator Vicki Vogel, which could happen within a week.

Vogel said anyone interested in being added as a write-in candidate must contact Woytek.